By Katy Wilkens

I read recently that Americans throw away about 40 percent of the food they buy, and that if wasted food was its own country, it would be the third largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the world! That made me sad. As a gardener, I am careful with the produce I harvest because I have planted it, watered it, weeded it, and watched over it for a long time before I get to eat it. I don’t waste it since I know how much work it takes.
If you plan and cook your meals carefully and use leftovers in creative ways, you can prevent a lot of food waste. Meanwhile, you’ll save money on food – great news for the planet and for your budget. Try these planet-saving and wallet-stretching tips:

1. Plan ahead! Draft out your next week or two to see how many days you’ll be eating out and how many meals you need to fix, what’s in the fridge you need to use up, etc. A plan will help you save lots of wasted food, and wasted money.
2. Shop food sales. Look for sale flyers in your local paper on Wednesdays. Or go online to your favorite grocery store sites and sign up to get information by email.
3. Buy food in season. Go to this site for food in season in our area.
4. Use frozen veggies. They’re often a better buy than fresh vegetables, especially in the winter. They are often higher in nutritional value, since they are picked and frozen at the height of freshness and won’t go bad in the freezer the way fresh produce might.
5. Find a local fruit market. They often have better prices on local produce, and your carbon footprint will be much lower than consuming food flown in from South America.
6. Use the slow cooker. You can use tougher cuts of meat, beans and other foods that take longer to cook. Put beans in when you wake up in the morning for a quick-to-serve chili dinner.
7. Eat vegetarian meals. They are always cheaper and better for the earth. Try vegetarian lasagna, chili, spaghetti sauce, curried paneer, etc.
8. Try more meals using eggs. Make quiche, omelets, waffles, pancakes, crepes or French toast.
9. Recycle leftovers in different ways. Leftover rice can go in rice pudding, a stir fry or soup; leftover dry bread makes bread pudding, croutons for a salad or French toast. Leftover potatoes can become hash browns, get added to soups or stews, or be mashed for potato pancakes. See how creative you can be using things up instead of adding to global warming.
10. Figure out five or six fast main dishes that your family likes. Keep the ingredients on hand all the time so you won’t be tempted to pick up fast food, which has a huge carbon footprint. My family’s quick five are: fast fettuccine, beef or chicken tacos, pancakes, stir fry using any veggies, leftover rice and meat from other meals, and omelets made with whatever is in the fridge.
11. Teach your kids how expensive fast food is. I love this site. A picture is worth 1,000 words.

The information in this column is meant for people who want to keep their kidneys healthy and blood pressure down by following a low-sodium diet. In most cases, except for dialysis patients, a diet high in potassium is thought to help lower high blood pressure. These recipes are not intended for people on dialysis without the supervision of a registered dietitian.

[Katy G. Wilkens is a registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. A recipient of the Susan Knapp Excellence in Education Award from the National Kidney Foundation Council on Renal Nutrition, she has a Master of Science degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington. See more of her recipes at www.nwkidney.org.]